As one of those among the disappointed, the WRX's styling redeemed itself once I began testing a 2015 WRX painted Crystal Black Silica at our home base in Chicago. Cars always look better in black, right? The black exterior seems to mask what I thought were awkward proportions between the rear wheel arch and rear quarter panel; there's a lot of body back there and not a lot of wheel to fill it.

Auto show debuts can look much different once they're off the turntable and on the road in a different paint color or more natural lighting. The 2015 WRX is especially muscular appearing on the road in the subtly sparkly Crystal Black Silica exterior paint paired with dark wheels. Our former long-term 2013 Subaru BRZ was also painted Crystal Black Silica, though I prefer our short-term WRX tester in this case mainly because we don't have to maintain the WRX's black paint for the long haul.